Shoe tree



Dec. 21, 1948 c. TIETIG 2,456,756

SHOE TREE F iled Nov. 23, 1945 IN V EN TOR.

Patented Dec. 21, 1948 UNITED S TAT ES OFFICE SHOE TREE Chester Tietig,Park Hills, Ky.

Application November 23, 1945, Serial N 0. 630,238

3 Claims.

This invention relates to a shoe tree adapted to be formed of sheetmaterial. Preferably it is made of stamped steel or other metal,although it may be made of other high resilience material such aslaminated plastic, for example, a canvas laminate, or it may be moldedof strong resilient plastic alone. It may be formed of plastic coveredmetal or of plywood alone.

The object of the invention is to provide a shoe tree that is light,strong, springy and capable of exerting considerable force to straightenthe shoe. A special modification is provided to exert a cam action tostraighten stubborn shoes. It is a further object of the entireinvention to provide a shoe tree that can be made substantially with onestroke of a punch press.

Referrin now to the drawings,

Figure 1 is a plan view of a simple form of my shoe tree.

Figure 2 is also a plan view of a form having a narrowed shank.

Figure 3 is a side elevation of either Figure 1 r Figure 2.

Figure 4 is an X-ray view showing the tree being used in a shoe.

Figure 5 is a cross section taken on the line 5-5 of Figure 3, facingtoward the toe.

Figure 6 is a fragmentary elevation showing a form having a bent shankand without a curl on the end of the shank.

Figure '7 is a plan view of a form having a middle rib of intermittentcharacter.

Figure 8 is a side elevation of Figure '7.

Figure 9 is a cross section taken on the line 9--9 of Figure 8 facingtoward the toe.

Figure 10 is an X-ray view showing the form of Figures 7, 8, and 9 inuse in a shoe. The dotted lines indicate the shank after it has beenforced down to accomplish a camming action.

Figure 11 is a side elevation (fragmentary) showing a modification ofthe middle channel.

In all forms in is the toe portion, which is hollow. II is a shankintegral with the toe portion and extending from the top rear thereof,and i2 is a curled part of the shank which may or may not be present inany of the modifications. The function of the curl l'2 is to preventgouging of the interior of the shoe by the free end of the shank ll.Figure 6 shows a form of shank that already has the arcuate bend whichthe forms shown in Figures 1, 2 and 3 assume when used in a shoe, as inFigure 4. In Figure 6, the curl :2 has been omitted.

A depressed center channel 13 is a distinguishing feature of the formsshown in Figures '7 to 11 inclusive. It may be either interrupted byopenings I4 or it may be of increasing depth toward the outer end of theshank l I as shown in Figure 11. It extends preferably but notnecessarily into the toe portion ID as shown in Figure 9.

By the use of the interrupted channel, the shank is constrained to bendin preselected places, i. e., where there is no channel. This is shownclearly in Figure 10. Therefore, by pressing firmly on the highest oneof such places in the arc of the shank II, the direction of curvaturecan be reversed as shown by the dotted lines in Figure 10. A powerfulcamming action or toggle action is thereby obtained. The two rearportions of the rib lock against each other to transmit the push. Inthis way the same toggle effect is obtained that formerly requiredmultipiece hinged construction to make possible. A more expeditiousresult is therefore achieved by simpler mechanism. By the use of hollowtoe caps the evaporation of perspiration from the shoe is facilitated.

In the form shown in Figure 11, the channel A serves to increase thestrength of the spring shank II where extra resilience is most needed toextend the shoe. There is no interference with camming action-if it isdesired to employ the latter. However, a short shoe will not be assuitable for camming as a shoe which is somewhat longer in relation tothe length of the shoe tree. This statement applies also to the formshown in Figures '7 to 10 inclusive.

I claim as my invention:

1. A shoe tree comprising a hollow curved toe portion of bent thinmaterial of high resilience and high strength in proportion to itsweight, said toe portion being open at its bottom, a resilient shankextending rearwardly from the toe portion being integral therewith, anda channel interrputed by openings, extending along the shanksubstantially on the middle line thereof the stock from which saidopenings were formed in said channel being depressed and cammingsurfaces formed on the ends of said depressions, some of which surfacesbear against each other when the shank is depressed during use of thetree.

2. A shoe tree according to claim 1 in which the channel or rib extendsthrough both the shank and the toe portion said channel graduallyincreasing in depth toward the rear of the shank whereby to provide astrong extending action to a shoe.

3. A shoe tree formable by pressure from sheet 3 stock which comprises atoe portion open at the bottom, a channeled shank extending rearwardlyfrom the highest point of said toe portion, a curled portion on theextreme rear end of said shank and. a plurality of intermittentlydepressed portions extending downwardly from the middle line of saidchannel, said depressed portions having square ends whereby to providebearing surfaces between certain of said depressed portions when saidshank is depressed to extend a shoe.

CHESTER TIETIG;

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number 10 Number Name Date Williams et al Mar. 23,1915 Jackson Feb. 5, 1924 Battilani June '7, 1927 Tibbott Aug. 11, 1936Mutch Feb. 1, 1944 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Great Britain Apr. 22,1899 Great Britain Mar. 9, 1925

